


A Ranger's Farewell

by Rubyya



Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2020-03-26 13:17:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19006558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rubyya/pseuds/Rubyya
Summary: A sad story about a great ranger.





	A Ranger's Farewell

Halt hadn't returned and Crowley was worried. Halt had said he'd be back three day ago and not much could hold up two rangers and a Skandian. Especially not some random highway robbers. Pauline had said they were just playing a joke. That they were already home. They weren't. Crowley sighed. 

A day after Will had become a full ranger a sea town had ships disappearing, then reappearing later, but with no crew and all the cargo intact. He thought it would be fun to send the pair on one last adventure. Erak had been visiting that day and had decided he would command the ship they rode on. Crowley had decided for his safety to allow it. It had been a simple mission, so why weren't they back yet? 

“Forget it,” Crowley said. 

“Excuse me?” Lady Pauline ask. 

“I meant forget waiting for Halt. I'm going to ride to that town and give him a piece of my mind.”

“I'm sure you will, but you'll make sure you wait for me, right?”

Crowley opened his mouth to argue, but one look at Lady Pauline’s face was enough to close it. Her smile showed that she knew she had won. They set off an hour later. At the halfway mark, they noticed a big lump against a tree. Even from this distance it was impossible to mistake the Skandian. 

“Erak!” Crowley yelled. 

Crowley was met by loud bellowing sobs. 

“What's wrong?”

“It…It...Its Will!” He was barely able to get it out in between the sobs. 

“What's wrong with Will?”

At this point Erak was crying too hard to say much more. All he could do was point to a campsite a few meters inside the forest. There were two tents. The one with the sea ax outside of it marked it as Erak's. Dipping his head, Crowley looked in the other tent. Will was on the ground, covered in bandages. 

“Crowley, don't you know it's rude to poke your head in a injured persons tent?”

The voice was unmistakably Halt’s and when Crowley turned around he was meet with a scowl. 

“Don't you know it's rude to say your coming home and then not come home? You had us worried sick.”

Halt’s scowl deepened. “Will's hurt. I'm not moving him until he gets better.”

At this point he turned away and started fiercely skinning a rabbit he had in his hand.

Although Crowley hated to be the bearer of bad news he started, “It doesn't look-”

“He will,” Halt said, “He will get better, just you wait.”

Crowley decided he was safer if he changed the subject a bit. “How did he get hurt?”

“It was that blasted town. We came in totally fine. Erak left only only a few crew members on board because he thought no one would be stupid enough to try something with a Skandian ship. Around midnight they would switch. The first watch was eager to get to bed, so they left the boat in the hands of the town guard and went to the inn. When they left the guards untied the rope and pushed the boat out to the river.  
The rest of us were already at the inn. Me and Will shared a room. Erak and his crew were in the rooms around us. We had a watch in the rooms too, just to be sure. Will was by the window when they shot him. Luckily they were terrible shots and only hit is arm. He yelled and woke everyone else up. Nearly twenty men with swords came in. They had us outmatch. We decided the best choice was to let ourselves be taken.  
We found where all the missing people were taken. There was a trapdoor around the back of the inn. It let to a big basement. It was full of sailors in chains. We were stuck. Will tried to get out multiple times but the guards caught him. Then they beat him on top of the arrow wound. It took awhile but we got out a few days later. They hadn't moved Alberd and Tug yet so we hopped on them. The Skandians ran. We were sloppy though. The town guards caught us. Will got a crossbow bolt to the side. We made it here before he collapsed.”

By now the rabbit was being fiercely cooked. 

“That's quite the story,” Lady Pauline said, “And would you mind telling me why you couldn't tell us that in a letter?”

Halt looked up and saw her for the first time. 

“I was too busy with Will” he muttered, although it seemed like a weak excuse even to him. Lady Pauline was about to continue, but something in Halts body made her stop. He looked already defeated. That night Cowley and Lady Pauline decided to stay to help Halt. It wasn't until the next morning that he needed them.  
Will had been moved outside the tent for fresh air. Halt was eating a breakfast everyone else had forced him to eat. That's when Will's coughing started. At first small. Then accompanied by blood. The last thing he felt was Halt holding is hand. His last words were, “Make sure Tug is ok.” The last sound was Halts voice, “You care about that damn horse too much.”  
That was the first time Crowley had seen Halt express his emotions so freely. Tears streamed down his his face, his shoulders shaking. Erak was crying too, which didn't help anything. Tug has pushing his hard against Will, as if he would wake up and give him an apple.  
The funeral was small. Only Will's closest friends. Halt didn't want to speak, but everyone agreed he was the most qualified. His speech was short and sweet. 

“I won't drag it on. He was a great man. I was proud to call him my apprentice. And I'm proud to say he died a Ranger.”


End file.
